To ensure he’d stand out less during his journey, Thirteen changed into black military clothes.
But even those clothes were now torn in several places, and his left arm was bent at an unnatural angle.
The battle earlier had forced him to dislocate his own shoulder just so he could free himself from the monster who managed to grab hold of his arm.
The injury he received wasn’t ideal, but in a battle where his life was on the line, even the System of Cannon Fodders had limited choices and could only settle for the optimal way to survive his predicament.
Thirteen didn’t even have time to wipe the blood seeping at the corner of his lips as he gazed at the red-headed Half-Elf, who was giving him an appraising gaze.
He saw the confusion, anxiety, and desperation in the young man’s eyes, which made Thirteen want to ignore him. No matter the case, he couldn’t bring himself to like the so-called Heroes.
Thirteen had deemed that the young man in front of him was a True Hero, and not a second-rate knockoff.
He could also tell that the Half-Elf was strong.
If he were to give him a Rank based on the standards of his world, the young man was a Pseudo-Monarch, which was very surprising due to how young he looked.
’He looks young,’ the Red-Headed Half-Elf thought. ’No older than sixteen, I believe.’
The Half-Elf originally thought that Maple and Cinnamon would take him to an old master who would tell him how to solve the problem that he was currently facing.
He was even prepared to kneel and beg for help as long as he could save his world from the individual who would not hesitate to do anything in order to become a God.
It was at that moment when an adorable voice broke him out of his daze.
"Big Brother, can you help Brother Thirteen?" Maple asked. "His left arm looks funny."
The Half-Elf nodded and went toward the teenage boy and gently held his hand.
"This is going to hurt, so bear with it," the Half-Elf said.
Thirteen nodded. Even though he was bruised and battered all over, his eyes remained calm, and his expression didn’t show any signs of pain.
His stare was so strong and steady that it made the Half-Elf feel like he was looking at a monster trapped inside a teenage boy’s body.
With one quick jerk of his arm, the Half-Elf straightened the dislocated shoulder, setting it back into its rightful place.
"Thanks," Thirteen said.
"You’re welcome," the Half-Elf replied.
Thirteen then moved his left arm to check if it was moving properly before raising his pinky finger.
Erica’s blue thread was still blinking red, but it wasn’t as intense as the first time he saw it.
Although he believed that his lover was still in danger, she was no longer in critical danger.
The teenage boy sighed in relief before patting the heads of the two adorable gluttons who had come to see him.
"What are the two of you doing here?" Thirteen asked. "Are you looking for your sister?"
"No," Maple replied. "We came here for you, Big Brother."
"This Big Brother wants to ask you for help, Big Brother," Cinnamon stated. "Can you help him?"
Thirteen frowned before glancing at the Half-Elf and eyeing him from head to foot.
"How may I help you?" Thirteen asked. "I am in a hurry, so make it quick."
Although Erica’s danger level had decreased, he still wanted to reunite with her as fast as possible.
"My name is Lux Von Kaizer," Lux said. "I came here because the Goddess, Lily, said that you can help me."
"I don’t know any Goddess named Lily," Thirteen replied. "But you still haven’t answered my question. What do you want?"
Thirteen lied, not wanting others to know that he knew a few Gods residing in the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods.
Maple and Cinnamon glanced at each other but decided not to say anything and simply hugged their Big Brother, Zion, while the latter patted their heads.
Lux didn’t miss the impatience in the teenage boy’s words, so he decided to get straight to the point.
The Half-Elf watched as Maple and Cinnamon offered Thirteen some potions to help him recover from his injuries, which the teenage boy gladly accepted.
"You see, I am currently facing an extremely strong enemy," Lux said in a serious tone. "If I don’t stop him, he will destroy two worlds and send his minions to conquer other worlds."
Thirteen wanted to roll his eyes because this was a typical setup for Hero characters.
But he still listened to the rest of the Half-Elf’s story. In any case, the man was brought to him by Maple and Cinnamon, whom Thirteen treated like his own little sisters.
"Explaining will take some time, and I need to go somewhere to look for someone," Thirteen replied. "Can you come back after a day? I really need to go."
Without even waiting for Lux’s reply, Thirteen briskly walked away.
He was still injured. Maple and Cinnamon might’ve given him potions, but since there was only so much they could do, he had yet to heal fully.
If he rested for two to three hours, all of his injuries would heal. However, he didn’t have the luxury of rest.
Lux wanted to say that he could help him find the person he was looking for, but before he could do that, he found himself unable to say anything.
He had lost his voice, which greatly surprised him.
"Big Brother, we can follow Brother Thirteen, but you are not allowed to interfere or do anything," Maple stated.
"Helping him is no good," Cinnamon said sadly. "Even if Cinnamon wants to help, she can’t do it either. Someone very scary will hurt him more if he receives help from others."
"We helped him a bit earlier, but if we did more, we would just anger that scary person," Maple said with a pout. "This is the limit we can do for Big Brother Thirteen."
Suddenly, Lux felt his strength being suppressed for some reason, which wasn’t always a good sign.
High above the Celestial Realm, the God of Wanderers, Laplace Demon, and Metatron eyed the red-headed Half-Elf who had crossed over to their world.
Truth be told, The One was very tempted to kick Lux out of Pangea.
The only reason why it didn’t do that was because he was accompanied by Maple and Cinnamon.
They were now aware of the two identities of the little gluttons after asking a few of their acquaintances in the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods.
In short, the father of the two gluttons was someone even the Gods didn’t want to antagonize.
Since that was the case, they tolerated Lux’s existence, but made sure that he wouldn’t interfere with Thirteen’s quest to reunite with Erica, since it would affect the Law of Cause and Causality.
If Lux were to help Thirteen find his lover, there was a chance that an unexpected outcome would happen, which might lead to Erica dying or getting seriously hurt.
The God of Wanderers didn’t want to see the System of Cannon Fodders snap and forcefully break his restraints before going to the afterlife to get her back.
Even Metatron had a feeling that the entire multiverse would be flipped upside down the moment Thirteen decided to throw caution to the wind.